Science and Tech

Oura Smart rings have built-in sensors that monitor the wearer’s heart rate and other health issues Wearable tech – currently dominated by smart watches – is a multi-billion dollar industry with a sharp focus on health tracking. Many premium products claim to accurately track exercise routines, body temperature, heart rate, menstrual cycle and sleep patterns, among others. Health Secretary Wes …

Cate Blanchett has told the BBC she is “deeply concerned” about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI). Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the Australian actress said: “I’m looking at these robots and driverless cars and I don’t really know what that’s bringing anybody.” Blanchett, 55, was promoting her new film Rumours – an apocalyptic comedy about a group of …

Adam Riches Adam Riches has spent the past three-and-a-half years making a game with his brother “Everything is on fire at the moment,” says indie developer Adam Riches. It’s not a controversial view, and when Adam says it he’s almost casual. Just a fact of life these days. Widespread lay-offs and studio closures that rocked the industry last year have …

Jamie Matthews Jamie Matthews tracked down heat loss at his home with a thermal imaging camera It’s like X-ray vision – for heat loss. Last year, web engineer Jamie Matthews bought a thermal imaging camera. His home, in the southeast of England, was about to give up some of its secrets. The colourful images on the device’s small screen soon …

Getty Images The most popular mobile games in the UK are being advertised without disclosing they contain loot boxes – random in-game purchases which critics say are “exploitative” and “foster addiction”. The regulator, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), says it bans and removes ads which fail to make the clear whether or not a game contains a loot box. But …

Canada’s Competition Bureau is suing Google for alleged anti-competitive conduct in its online advertising. In a statement, the country’s antitrust watchdog alleged Google had illegally linked two advertising tools to maintain market supremacy and used this dominant position to distort ad auctions by preferring its own tools. The agency said it had filed an application with the Competition Tribunal, a …

Getty Images Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has visited Donald Trump at his resort in Mar-a-Lago, further evidence of the apparent thawing in their once frosty relations. The president-elect already has a close, high-profile relationship with another of the leading figures in tech, X owner Elon Musk. Historically, though, there has been no such closeness between Trump and Mr Zuckerberg – …

Uber is facing an investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) into its flagship subscription plan, the company has said. As first reported by Bloomberg, the US consumer watchdog was probing the ride-hailing giant over the enrolment and cancellation procedures of the service. Uber One, which has more than 25 million subscribers around the world, offers fee-paying members discounts …

Getty Ofcom has warned social media companies they will be punished if they fail to take significant extra steps to address the problem of children pretending to be adults online. A newly released survey, conducted by the UK media regulator, indicates 22% of eight to 17 year olds lie that they are 18 or over on social media apps. This …

US weapons scanning company Evolv Technology will be banned from making unsupported claims about its products in a proposed settlement with the US government. The company had claimed its AI scanner, used in the entrances of thousands of US schools, hospitals and stadiums, could detect all weapons. However BBC investigations showed these claims to be false. Evolv said it has …